Tag Archives: National Debt

The media during Bush’s 8 years certainly was not afraid to pull out any statistics that would discredit Republicans or the administration. One of their favorite statistics was the number of deaths during the Iraq War.

However, now that there are wars still being fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, the media has conveniently left that tiny issue to the way-side. The only individual who still has her principles is Cindy Sheehan. I may not agree with Ms. Sheehan’s politics, but I can at least commend her for her consistency. (via the Examiner):

After receiving the email, I asked Sheehan to give me a call, so I could verify that the note in fact came from her. She did, and we discussed her plans to protest next week in Martha’s Vineyard, where President Obama will be vacationing. “I think people are starting to wake up to the fact that even if they supported Obama, he doesn’t represent much change,” Sheehan said. “There are people still out here who oppose the war and Obama’spolicies, but it seems like the big organizations with the big lists aren’t here.”

I asked Sheehanabout the fact that the press seems to have lost interest in her and her cause. “It’s strange to me that you mention it,” she said. “I haven’t stopped working. I’ve been protesting every time I can, and it’s not covered. But the one time I did get a lot of coverage was when I protested in front of George Bush’s house in Dallas in June. I don’t know what to make of it. Is the press having a honeymoon with Obama? I know the Left is.”

I have more appreciation for those who stay true to their beliefs no matter what those beliefs are, rather than changing them based on whichever way the political wind is blowing, especially when your guy won the biggest office in the land.

The former president of the Canadian Medical Association was on O’Reilly last night and confirmed the same thing. Although O’Reilly, as usual, wasn’t letting him get his statements in completely, he intimated that there are not enough doctors able to cover the volume of people covered under their system. This leads to rationing of care and increased costs to attempt to fund everyone. Rationing is the only way to say you are covering everyone, and try to cut costs at the same time.

France also reported that it’s health care system is going bankrupt, nearly two weeks ago. No mention of their single-payer system and the nightmare it created for the citizens of that country by the MSM.

The English system also has horrible statistics. Their rate of survival for any cancer or serious illness is significantly worse than it is in the States. The National Center for Policy Analysisalso conducted a study and concluded the NHS was putting the patient last. If NHS was a business it would fail miserably based on its standard operating procedures and business practices that it chooses to implement.

The CBC has just released new statistics that show Americans’ life expentency is on the rise while deaths are not. But I thought American health care was ranked last? It’s amusing to hear liberals use the common argument that the US ranks 37th out of 37 countries when comparing their health care systems. However, when you ask for the context of those statistics, since stats can be masterfully manipulated based on outside factors/variables used to conduct studies, it’s no wonder that the CATO Institute was able to debunk that ranking.

Those who cite the WHO rankings typically present them as an objective measure of the relative performance of national health care systems. They are not. The WHO rankings depend crucially on a number of underlying assumptions–some of them logically incoherent, some characterized by substantial uncertainty, and some rooted in ideological beliefs and values that not everyone shares. Changes in those underlying assumptions can radically alter the rankings.

[…]while the United States ranks 37th, there is no ranking for which both claims are true. Using OP, the United States does rank 37th. But while France is number 1 on OP, Canada is 30. Using OA, the United States ranks 15th, while France and Canada rank 6th and 7th, respectively. In neither ranking is the United States at 37 while France and Canada are in the top 10.

Which ranking is preferable? WHO presents the OP ranking as its bottom line on health system performance, on the grounds that OP represents the efficiency of each country’s health system. But for reasons to be discussed below, the OP ranking is even more misleading than the OA ranking. This paper focuses mainly on the OAranking; however, the main objections apply to both OP and OA.

But, as Newsbusters reports, the media has conveniently overlooked the story regarding Canadian health care, especially when early proponents of Universal health care, like Hillary touted the system as a model the US should use.

One would think that the media would want to get all facts out to the public, and unfortunately, if some of those facts get in the way of what they idealistically felt was the answer, then so be it. The people will be better off knowing the truth and making their decisions on health care from there. It may also help certain representatives who are on the fence. It’s scary to know that the media is willing to throw the country down the toilet and inevitably bankrupt the nation in order to reach their liberal ‘Utopia.’

Par for the course I guess, but this is becoming quite a pattern with the Obama administration and the news media. Obama has this strange habit of promising everybody the world, but once in power, takes it all back and simply does whatever he wants.

The latest political promise, double-cross involves his base – a group that I would not want to upset. Obama had promised to implement a payroll tax on those making over $250K/year, the people he calls millionaires and billionaires, to help pay for the ever depleting bucket of money in social security. His base strongly approved of this pledge to uncap the taxing threshold – here is what he said:

Social Security is strong, but as more baby boomers retire, the long-term cash-flow needs to be addressed. We have to make sure Social Security is there for future generations…

Here’s where I would start. Right now, the Social Security payroll tax is capped. That means most middle-class families pay this tax on every dime they make, while millionaires and billionaires are only paying it on a very small percentage of their income. That’s why I think the best way forward is to first look to adjust the cap on the payroll tax so that people like me pay a little bit more and people in need are protected. That way we can extend the promise of Social Security without shifting the burden on to seniors. And we should exempt anyone making under $250,000 from this increase so that the change doesn’t burden middle-class Americans. This means that 97% of Americans will see absolutely no change in their taxes under my plan – 97%…

Citing a 2008 third quarter cost of living decline, Congress has voted no cost of living increase in next year’s Social Security checks for the first time since 1973.

The Democrats are pointing to their own prediction of a “… [steady] decline in consumer prices through the first three quarters of this year…” Based on this they claim to foresee no need for raises until possibly 2012.

Democrats ignore Consumer Price Index: hide behind flat Inflation

Obama’s base will suffer the most. While 80% of our big cities voted for Obama it’s apparent the elderly, both White and minority, will be asked to “balance the budget” by themselves. There might not be any inflation but the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has risen steadily since January, and people are living by the CPI not the rate of inflation.

Numbers show ignoring the CPI will crush elderly and minorities.

A little history:

Back in the 80’s, Congress changed the way that the CPI was applied to the Social Security COLA, with the express intention of limiting the COLA increase. That same year, they voted themselves a raise. The resulting rage among seniors was palpable. This time around things could get interesting!

There are those who are stating this is old news, but it still begs the question, why is nobody in the media bringing up the fact that he has incessantly lied to those who elected him and the American public? Yes, all politicians lie, but I’m not sure I have ever seen it to this extent – I know, I know, I’m young, but still…

If you thought the government, couldn’t get any more insane, it has. The government is backing/funding China’s purchase of US assets. We are creating a PPIP for the Chinese, whereby, the US Treasury matches private purchases of US assets like bonds or property and credits/guarantees 6x as much as the total lump sum after the match.

The Chinese company, China Investment Corp (CIC) plans on purchasing $2B worth of AAA distressed US mortgages. The US Treasury would match that amount for a total of $4B and then credit up to $24B. In essence, since the US Treasury has no money of its own, we, as taxpayers, are funding the purchase of our country, not only via our debt, but our mortgages/property, by the Chinese.

It is being reported that China Investment Corp (CIC) intends to purchase $2 billion of AAA rated, distressed mortgages in the United States. The press reports are suggesting that CIC is presently interviewing 9 American money managers.

These managers have been approved by the Treasury to participate in the PPIP program as servicers. CIC will pick one or perhaps two to manage its investment program.

Has this been going on for a while in the US? Of course it has, but does that make it right and when does the insanity stop? The real losers in this mess are the American working public who do not make up the elite class and the Chinese people who are not part of the oligarchy. It begs the question of how far away from a Republic are we?

A serious question must also be presented that questions what type of property would be purchased as well. It could get very precarious if the property involved included farms, and other vital properties. Just food for thought!

I have been hearing all the pundits and supposed economists stating that the recession is over, we are in the clear and out of the woods. However, I believe this to be wishful thinking on the part of everyone rooting for the Obama administration to claim that spending more than all presidents combined fixed the economy.

I recall Obama’s name drop of Warren Buffett during his final debate with John McCain, stating that Buffett was an advisor to him when it came to markets and economics. So why is it that Warren Buffet doesn’t even know what shape the economy is going to take during a recent interview with Bloomberg TV? He actually skirts the entire question. I actually heard from a close friend that he feels weare headed for, what many of us in finance know as, the dreaded W double-dip recession/economy? Roubini, another economist who has been dead-on (gloomy but dead-on), believes we are also headed there.

If you take a gander at the shape of the letter W you can see how it begins by crashing down, as evidenced last year, then a recovery (bear market rally), and another crash. This next crash is expected to hit at some point this Fall, per more objective and experienced economists.

A W-shaped recession or “double dip” recession, occurs when the economy has a recession, emerges from the recession with a short period of growth, but quickly falls back into recession.

The Early 1980s recession in the United States is cited as an example of a W-shaped recession. The National Bureau of Economic Research considers two recessions to have occurred in the early 1980s.[4] The economy fell into recession from January 1980 to July 1980, shrinking at an 8 percent annual rate from April to June of 1980. The economy then entered a quick period of growth, and in the first three months of 1981 grew at an 8.4 percent annual rate. As the Federal Reserve under Paul Volcker raised interest rates to fight inflation, the economy dipped back into recession (hence, the “double dip”) from July 1981 to November 1982. The economy then entered a period of mostly robust growth for the rest of the decade.

It’s funny how the last W-shaped economy/recovery took place during/after Jimmy Carter which parallels what we are going through today. If there is any president that Obama is following based on policies, stimulus, possible (to me it’s inevitable) inflation, and high unemployment, it is Jimmy Carter. That’s why it’s important that we look back at history to assume that this recession will be no different.

Several ‘economists’ are calling for another stimulus which would be three all together. The more money that gets pumped into the economy, the less valuable it becomes. Short stimuli can be helpful – it’s not an all or nothing position, but when stimuli lasts for extended periods of time, and with the original TARP from Bush, the next stimulus from Obama, an unprecedented budget, an unprecedented deficit, and those calling for more stimuli will certainly cause inflation. Some stipulate that the government wants inflation because it will be easier to pay off the debt when there is a ton of money but it’s not worth much. Tax increases could also be another outlet to pay off this seemingly insurmountable debt – which would have another negative effect on an economy attempting to recover.

Let’s take into account the bills sitting in Congress as we speak; Cap & Trade, Health Care reform, and Amnesty. Amnesy will increase our population and require more jobs, although our own unemployment rates are really in the double digits. Cap & Trade will tax middle America and put massive regulations on industry for green jobs and our own personal life. Health Care will also require taxation, as Obama said in Portsmouth: “I plan on rolling back the Bush tax cuts to pay for reform.” I hope people understand that when tax cuts are pulled, taxes go up.

This administration is planning on transforming our economy in the name of green jobs, health care, and illegal immigration. This could cause the perfect storm and an absolute disaster if inflation occurs simultaneously.

A clear indication of the lies being perpetuated about our economy are the recent retail sales numbers and unemployment claims. Unemployment may be a lagging indicator but it is still a very important index when measuring our economic stability. The administration was boasting that the unemployment numbers had taken a sudden drop to 9.4% a week ago, however, they forgot to include the fact that a significant reason for this drop was due to people giving up on finding jobs and in essence walking out of the unemployment lines to just wait it out. A report had actually been presented that said the real unemployment numbers were above 10%.

The Commerce Department said Thursday that retail sales fell 0.1 percent last month. Economists had expected a gain of 0.7 percent.

While autos, helped by the start of the Cash for Clunkers program, showed a 2.4 percent jump — the biggest in six months — there was widespread weakness elsewhere. Gasoline stations, department stores, electronics outlets and furniture stores all reported declines.

The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly last week, while continuing claims fell sharply.

The Labor Department says new claims increased to a seasonally adjusted 558,000, from 554,000 the previous week. Analysts expected new claims to drop to 545,000, according to Thomson Reuters.

It’s obvious that economists or the wishful thinkers out there are not looking at the entire picture. The reason why continuing jobless claims fell has more to do with people giving up looking for work than anything else, as I state above.

All of this spells dismal times on the horizon for this country as well as many others. Be cautious and continue to take what you hear out of the MSM and from economists associated with a particular political party/administration with a grain of salt.